Dear List,
My wife just got a laptop and I want to connect it to my desktop for printer
and internet access.
My question is, do I need to buy a network hub, router, gateway? Can't I be
cheap and just connect the laptop (via it's network adaptor) to the ethernet
card on my desktop with an ethernet cable?
Both are dells and both are running windows xp.
Thanks!
Bob
Bob,
You can indeed connect the desktop and laptop computers directly. Be sure to
get a cross-over ethernet cable, as a normal (straight-thru) ethernet cable
won't work.
See these websites which have good tutorials:
<
http://www.cablesense.com/>
<
http://www.homenethelp.com/home-network.asp>
<
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/>
You have internet access, and 2 computers. Connecting the two computers with a
router is the responsible solution.
All computers will be safer. The router will block any malevolent internet
traffic. This further protects the internet, from your becoming infected and
spreading the infection.
All computers will run better, with the router blocking the trash infection
traffic. Any personal firewall on either computer will have less to do, because
the router will block most malevolent traffic.
All computers will run independent of each other. If you want to use the
desktop computer to provide internet service to the laptop, you have to have the
desktop computer on whenever you wish to access the internet from the laptop.
With a router, this will not be true.
And, IMHO, connecting a NAT router, and making it work, is easier than
connecting two computers cheaply, and setting up ICS, or another internet
service sharing tool.
If you can afford to have more then one computer, and broadband, you can afford
a router. For many reasons.
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
